Fiscal Ship

The difference between ANNUAL tax revenue collected by the Federal government and annual government spending.

• Federal debt

• Federal budget deficit (or surplus)

The best measure of how able a country is to repay its debt is

• Debt-to-GDP ratio

• Debt-to-deficit ratio

• Inflation-to-GDP ratio

• Deficit-to-GDP ratio

The federal budget is the ______ and _______ plan of the federal government.

• interest, debt

• taxing, spending

• savings, investment

• health, defense

A budget​ (a)   occurs in years the government's outlays (spending) are greater than its ​ (b)   (tax receipts)

• deficit
• revenues
• debt
• interest

Budget ​ (a)   increase the National ​ (b)   (the total unpaid borrowed funds, carried by the federal government).

• deficits
• Debt
• surpluses

What is the largest category of "non-interest spending" in the FY 2018 budget?

• National Defense

• Social Security

• Education

• Healthcare

• Highways

​ (a)   deficits increase interest rates which ​ (b)   private investment

• Larger
• decreases
• smaller
• increases

Challenge #3: Increased Costs for ​ (a)   Programs as the population ages.

• Major Health Care
• Defense
• foreign aid
• transportation
• education

A significant negative effect of high debt is to ​ (a)   the government’s ​ (b)   costs, putting more pressure on the rest of the budget

• increase
• interest
• decrease
• spending

Match the following

• Tax Cutter

• You believe lower taxes will boost economic growth and want to allow Americans to keep more of what they earn. Your goal is to substantially reduce federal tax revenues as a share of the economy.

• Fight Climate Change

• The disparity between Americans who have the most and the least income is growing, mirrored by disparities in education, health, and family structure. You want to narrow the widening gaps in incomes and well-being at the top and the bottom.

• Strengthen the Social Safety Net

• You believe it’s important for the federal government to give a hand up to those in poverty and protect those at risk of falling down the income ladder when times are tough. You want to expand and protect programs that protect the vulnerable

• Reduce Inequality

• Projections of current policies show defense spending, measured as a share of the economy, falling over the next decade and then plateauing. You’d bolster the U.S. military by providing it with more personnel and more arms.

• Strengthen Defense

• You want to use government policies to promote a cleaner, healthier environment, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the damage that could be caused by global climate change.